India to have 2.9m more people than China by mid-2023, UN estimate shows

Published April 19, 2023
People shop at a crowded market in the old quarters of Delhi, India, October 11, 2022. — Reuters/File
People shop at a crowded market in the old quarters of Delhi, India, October 11, 2022. — Reuters/File

India is on its way to becoming the world’s most populous country, overtaking China with almost 3 million more people in the middle of this year, data released on Wednesday by the United Nations showed.

The demographic data from the United Nations Population Fund’s (UNFPA) State of World Population Report, 2023 estimates India’s population at 1,428.6m or 1.4286 billion against 1.4257bn for China.

The United States is a distant third, with an estimated population of 340m, the data showed. The data reflects information available as of February 2023, the report said.

Population experts using previous data from the UN have projected India would go past China this month. But the latest report from the global body did not specify a date for when the change would take place.

UN population officials have said it was not possible to specify a date due to “uncertainty” about the data coming out of India and China, especially since India’s last census was conducted in 2011 and the next one due in 2021 has been delayed due to the pandemic.

Although India and China will account for more than one-third of the estimated global population of 8.045bn, the population growth in both Asian giants has been slowing, at a much faster pace in China than in India.

Last year, China’s population fell for the first time in six decades, a historic turn that is expected to mark the start of a long period of decline in its citizen numbers with profound implications for its economy and the world.

India’s annual population growth has averaged 1.2 per cent since 2011, compared with 1.7pc in the 10 years previously, according to government data.

“The Indian survey findings suggest that population anxieties have seeped into large portions of the general public,” Andrea Wojnar, Representative for UNFPA India, said in a statement.

“Yet, population numbers should not trigger anxiety or create alarm. Instead, they should be seen as a symbol of progress, development, and aspirations if individual rights and choices are being upheld,” she said.

Opinion

Editorial

Smog hazard
Updated 05 Nov, 2024

Smog hazard

The catastrophe unfolding in Lahore is a product of authorities’ repeated failure to recognise environmental impact of rapid urbanisation.
Monetary policy
05 Nov, 2024

Monetary policy

IN an aggressive move, the State Bank on Monday reduced its key policy rate by a hefty 250bps to 15pc. This is the...
Cultural power
05 Nov, 2024

Cultural power

AS vital modes of communication, art and culture have the power to overcome social and international barriers....
Disregarding CCI
Updated 04 Nov, 2024

Disregarding CCI

The failure to regularly convene CCI meetings means that the process of democratic decision-making is falling apart.
Defeating TB
04 Nov, 2024

Defeating TB

CONSIDERING the fact that Pakistan has the fifth highest burden of tuberculosis in the world as per the World Health...
Ceasefire charade
Updated 04 Nov, 2024

Ceasefire charade

The US talks of peace, while simultaneously arming and funding their Israeli allies, are doomed to fail, and are little more than a charade.